Appointments

Appointments

14 May 2026

I am waiting at the inspection office for my new inspection card. According to the thermometer in my car, it is 37 degrees outside. I can believe it, but that is not what I want to talk about now.

In my view, there is quite a lot happening at the moment around appointments to important positions. The clearest example is the appointment of a new national team coach. It illustrates something I think matters: results do not depend only on a person’s qualities, but also on the extent to which that person is accepted.

R=Q⋅A

With the departing coach, it was clear that acceptance had become insufficient. In that case, stepping aside is the sensible thing to do. That does not necessarily say everything about his abilities. It mainly shows that legitimacy and support matter.

There are always appointments; that is normal. It is just that a few of them now are high-profile and attract extra attention. What I often see is that the person appointed is immediately congratulated, as if they have won a prize. I usually keep my own appointments private. And when people congratulate me, I would rather they wish me wisdom and success.

Because an appointment is not a trophy. It is an assignment.

When I look at people being appointed, I often wonder what profile they were chosen for. Sometimes it seems that managers are selected simply to keep the tent standing. That has its place. But in this era of transition, which increasingly feels like a permanent crisis, we need something different.

We need leaders with vision. People who can guide not only organizations, but society as a whole through transition. People who can offer direction when old certainties are fading.

I feel there are too few of them. And I wonder what the consequences will be. I fear that organizations and society will continue to erode.

Miguel Goede